Disarmament

New York, 30 November 2012 (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The eleventh United Nations-Republic of Korea Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues will take place in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, from 3 to 4 December 2012.

The annual United Nations Disarmament Fellowship Programme will commence its third and final segment today at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

On 25 September, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs launched its publication “Forces of Change: Profiles of Latin American and Caribbean Women in Combating Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms” at the side-event entitled “Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control”, hosted by Winston Dookeran, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago.

Concluding its two-week session today, the second United Nations conference to review the 2001 Programme of Action on trafficking in small arms and light weapons adopted a consensus outcome document that highlighted the international community’s renewed commitment to preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade.

More than a decade after Member States agreed on a comprehensive programme of action aimed at eradicating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, the United Nations this week launched international standards to provide further impetus to that work. The International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) were launched during a global meeting in New York that is examining how well States are implementing the action programme they agreed in 2001.

The United Nations Review Conference continued today with representatives of firearms associations throwing into sharp relief the distinction between legal civilian ownership of weapons and the devastating illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, as speakers underscored the right of individuals — and women in particular — to defend themselves against violence.

The worldwide observance of the third annual International Day against Nuclear Tests will be on Wednesday, 29 August. The day highlights the efforts of the United Nations and a growing community of advocates, including Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and media in informing and educating on the importance of the nuclear‑test ban for the achievement of a safer and more secure world.

Significant progress had been made over the past years in regional efforts to implement the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, delegates heard today as the second Review Conference on the implementation of that instrument entered its second day.

The international community must redouble efforts to root out the culture of fear, suffering and chaos — as well as prevent an estimated 500,000 deaths a year — that still resulted from the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson emphasized today during the opening of the second international review conference aimed specifically at curbing those devastating effects.

The Second Review Conference on the United Nations Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons opens today at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Programme of Action, which Governments adopted by consensus in 2001, contains concrete recommendations for improving national legislation and controls over illicit small arms, fostering regional cooperation and promoting international assistance and cooperation on the issue.